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Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Minato ku
I never understand why people think that Quebec city is similar at Paris.
I don't see anything on common except the language.
Montreal I could understand but QC ?
I'd have to agree. Quebec City looks a lot more like a provincial French city than Paris and is a lot more comparable to a city like Dijon, Lyon, or Bordeaux than it is to Paris. Montreal has more of the energy and buzz that Paris has.
Quote:
Originally Posted by J'aimeDesVilles
I suppose because here in the U.S. our cities are so cookie-cutter that nearly every city (New York excepted) resembles half a dozen other cities.
This statement is an untrue falacy. San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, DC, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Chaleston, Savannah, St. Louis, San Antonio, Santa Fe, and many others are not duplicates of another. Paris they are not, but they are original nonetheless.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 06-07-2011 at 08:52 AM..
Location: NY-NJ-Philly looks down at SF and laughs at the hippies
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There is not a city in the U.S. exactly like Paris, but similarities can be seen sometimes.
1. Washington, D.C. - Layout, amount of government buildings and monuments.
2. Quebec City and Montreal - The overall culture.
3. New York City and Chicago - High density, transit, amount of high quality squares and parks.
Rather than thinking about cities that look like Paris in the US (there really are none) I thought about what cities have similar cultural and aesthetic values. I would consider Santa Fe, New Mexico the closest match. Like Paris, it celebrates its history and culture by preserving it in architecture. It also matches the artistic flair of Paris, but in a very southwestern way. It is a very walkable city with great food, interesting people, and a sense of cultural preservation that makes it truly different from all other American cities. Like Paris, its sense of style is innate, and truly timeless.
I would suggest that while you will not find a city that looks like Paris, France in the US, you can find a city that exudes a like spirit and culture.
Santa Fe, New Mexico, comes to mind. Like Paris, its architecture reflects a great respect for its history and culture. It actively retains that culture through the beautiful Adobe architecture of the local Native American culture.
Like Paris, Santa Fe has a strong artistic tradition and refined aesthetic sensibilities. Santa Fe is a mecca for local artists and craftsmen and has unique fashion and decorating signature.
Like Paris, Santa Fe is a walkers city. Its small charming streets and inviting neighborhoods are full of delightful cafes, restaurants and galleries and boutiques. It has a prized local cuisine.
Finally, Santa Fe has that sense of panache one feels in Paris. It is a stylish, good looking city and knows it
To the Moderator: These are my photos from my personal website:
A Santa Fe Doorway - Full of Panache!
http://stylepeterson.com/santafe/pic1a.jpg (broken link)
A True Walkers City full of galleries and other delights.
http://stylepeterson.com/santafe/pic1d.jpg (broken link)
Santa Fe's stylish architecture and world class museums:
http://stylepeterson.com/santafe/pic_13.jpg (broken link)
Anyway unlike Paris, Santa Fe isn't a major city nor a huge economic powerhouse.
These two points are important to not miss if we speak of spirit.
Paris is not a city of native, most of the population is born in provincial France or in foreign countries.
It means that the inhabitants do not live in Paris because of the beauty or the monuments but because of the jobs opportunity. The large majority of these jobs are not ralated to the tourism.
Status:
"Pickleball-Free American"
(set 4 days ago)
Location: St Simons Island, GA
23,463 posts, read 44,090,617 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wpmeads
The city layout for Washington was modeled after Paris.
Actually, Pierre L'Enfant modeled Washington DC after Versailles (another planned city). Much of Paris was undergoing 'urban renewal' based on the Versailles model in the late 18th century.
I think Santa Fe is an interesting choice based on it having a city-wide coherency to its layout and architecture (Paris was and still is strict about the look and layout of structures built in Paris, with very strict guidelines on how tall, what the facade is like, how far the setback from the street is, etc.).
Detroit was another previous mention that's interesting because it was in some part planned in a way similar to Paris with its wide, grand boulevards, little parks/squares, and monumental architecture in its downtown area.
I think another wildcard North American city would be Havana with its grand, cohesive architecture and layout of public squares (also, I think Hemingway once mentioned that of all the cities in the world only Paris and Venice surpassed Havana in beauty).
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